If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

I don't think its a horses hoof, it doesn't look tall enough,
But it might be an Artists Conk fungus. Both types usually have some trama/amadou making them usefull. If you can get a piece off without denuding the area, try drying a piece and experiment. I found one once and while the amadou didn't yeild a huge amount, the dried spore tubes make great ember extenders.

Cheers Ogri,
There were a few of these close by, but all are very old and dry. There was a larger one that was a lot thicker but typically i only got a shot of the top and you dont get the perspective of the thickness.

Firstly please excuse spelling, havent got me book.
Its not horses hoof fungus - Fomes fomentidus, It rearly does look like a horses hoof, Good to have common names sometimes.
The tree looks a bit like Oak, if so i'd say Beef steak fungus - Fistulina hepatica, hard to tell when their older tho. When new in the year they look like a blue steak sandwiched between layers of bark. Not sure about trama layer type.
There are several types of Ganoderma which grow on Oak. One of them looks simarler to the first picture, but they have a white soft pore area underneath.
Two types of Ganodera are good for trama layers that I have tried, applanatum and adspersum One of these is commonly called Artist Fungus cause u can draw on the white areas rearly easily. Ganoderma brackets are big and numerous.

Hi guys,
Firstly sorry for the poor pics and poor quality of the specimen is this a horseshoe fungus or am i yet again sadly mistaken?
cheers guys

Looks a bit like the one pictued below but maybe a bit younger. http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/sho...ht=horses+hoof
I havent a clue either. There are lots of ideas, but googling the names ive had, it doesnt seem to look like any of them. I think its age and condition are hindering me.

look at the rot!

This fungus is definately not beefsteak fungus (Fistulina hepatica) it has no similar properties, it also is almost certainly not a ganoderma as they tend to cause white rot and from the background of the picture it looks as though the tree has brown cubicle rot. The Horse hoof or Horse shoe fungus has a perennial fruiting body and each year it adds a new layer, therefore younger bodies don't have to be as tall. (Beefsteak fungus is an annual and drops off after a few months) It looks similar to the Artists conk fungus but obviously from the photo you can't tell how hard or soft it is, artist's fungus is so called because it changes colour when scratched and can be drawn with so this is a good test if you think it is.
A good book to get for mushroom identification is the Collins book 'Mushrooms'. You can get this from any book shop or national trust shop in all different sizes (around £3 on amazon)
so in conclusion... find out the properties of horse hoof fungus (ie. tinder, perennial, brown rot) and test it out on it next time you see some!

I'm almost certain Its a type of horses hoof fungus (Fomes Fomentarius), the principal fungus for making amadou. Had a little nose around for lookalikes there's a possibility that it's another fungus called Phellinus Igniarius (no common name) but judging by the shape and colour of the underside and the fact that F. Fomentarius is a lot more common I'd go with that. Either way both can produce amadou and neither is edible.

P.S. When I say inedible I don't mean poisonous... I have been told that there are no known poisonous polypore fungi but this isn't confirmed so please don't try!